Duplex rail assembling elevator



April M, 195:4., H. C;` WAUSQN [g1-AL 2,346,34@

DUPLEX RAIL ASSEMBLING ELEVATOR Filed Sept. 28, 1942 2 Sheets-Sheet l Apri u, 1944.

H. C. WAUSON ET AL DUPLEX RAIL ASSEMBLING ELEVATR Filed sept. 28, 1942 2 lSheets-Sheet 2 :hwwvkym Home@ C. Wauson Patented Apr. 11, 1944 UNITED .STAT-.Es .PATENT oFFic-E DUPLEX RAIL AS SEMBLING 4ELEVAT'OR Horace C. Wauson and Walter E...Bennett, Jr., Houston, Tex., Aassignors of threeffourths to Gulf Publishing Company, `Houston, Tex., a corporation of Texas, and ione-fourth to said Bennett, J r.

IApplication September 28, 1942,;Seria1No.-'459,892

14 Claims.

pending application, Serial No. 419,432, iiled November 17, 1941.

An important object of the `invention is to provide `an improved duplex rail assembly wherein the upper rail thereof is capable `of an elongate longitudinal movement :relative to thelower rail, whereby the upper 'rail may tbe vdisposed either in a position loverlying and inzalinement with .the lower rail in which event the matrices will .fall onto the upper rail, or said upper Arail may be shifted out of longitudinal alinement with the lower rail'to onset the end of said .upper rail-.with respect to the end of the ;lower ,railso that the matrices may be depositeddirectly Yupon the lower rail, the shifting of the upper rail being faccomplished automatically.

A particular object of the invention Vis to .provide an improved duplex rail assembly :having means 'actuated by the insertion of a space band into the device for automatically shifting the upper frail, whereby subsequent lmatrices ,-fed .into

the .device are deposited upon the lower `rail.

A further'object of the invention is Ato provide `an assembly, of .the vcharacter described, wherein the upper rail is maintained .in ashifted-position after its movement to such yposition by the insertion of a space band, .until said rail is manually returned to its original or starting position, whereby after 'actuation of the upper rail -all subsequent matrices are deposited `uponthe lower rail until a manual noperation. is performed to again locate the upper rail ,in position .for receiving additional matrices.

Another :object of the invention is to .Qprovide an improved duplex `rail assembling elevator `wherein the automatically-operated means r,which from its position overlying the .lower irail, whereby the Aautomatic feature is 1combined with the advantages of a slidable and retractible upper rail.

A construction designed 'to carry -out .the iinvention will be hereinafter described, together with-other'features of the invention.

The invention will be more readily understood from 'a reading of the following speci'cationiand by reference ikto 'the accompanying :drawings wherein an example of the invention is shown and wherein:

'Figure 1 isa view in elevation of `a duplex Yrail assembly elevator lfront having incorporated'the improved rail assembly, constructed invaccord- `ance with the invention,

ibar,

Figure 4 is an enlarged plan view ofthe rev1tainer -base block of the lautomatic actuating mechanism,

`Figure 5 'is a view, partly inisection and `partly in elevation, of the yrear side of the elevator front, 'the actuator being in a starting position,

jFigure 6 is a transverse, vertical sectional view,

ta-ken on the line 'l-6 of Figure "5,

yFigure 7 is a view similarto VFigure25,'and-showing the actuator in a shifted position,

Figure l8 is a transverse, verticaLsectionalview,

jFigures'Q, 10 and 11 are schematic planiviews Aof the actuating mechanism'and illustratingthe various positions ofthe parts during `the opera- :tion of said mechanism.

'of the'shank is cut out to reduce the'weight'there- 'of and the lower portion of said shank has a bolt hole I3 therein, whereby a suitable nbolt (not tshowm may pass therethrough tojsecure Athe accomplishes the shifting of the upper `rail mayr .be locked Ior -latched in a retracted or .inactive position, Ywhereby the use of such automatic means is'optional with the operator.

Still anotherobject of .the inventionis topragitudinally but is also capable of a llateralorhorivide an apparatus, Aoi" the character described, .having the automatic ,actuating mechanism for its upper rail, which rail is .-notgonly'slidable lon- LAframe l0 to `the usual Linotype machine (not shown).

The body portion l l lhas Va substantially flat'upper surface |`4 and this surfaceis -adapted tosup- .port 'the upper rail assembly. "Below 'the surface f4, the rear surface of the body portion 'l l fis offset or shouldered near its upper portion to jprovide va lower rail l5 which `extends 'longitudinally .throughout the .length of 'said'body .An :upper rail 'I6 is slidabl'e upon thefl'at surface T4 "of 'the body '(Figures and) andthe rear ed'geportion body II.

of the upper rail extends beyond the rear Wall of the body so as to overlie the lower rail I5. The usual pivotally mounted gate Illa is mounted on the body II and normally overhangs the rail assembly, as is clearly shown in Figure l.

A laterally movable actuating bar or element I1 overlies the upper rai1 I6 and extends longitudinally aboveA the body portion II of the frame, the ends of said bar or element being conned by small blocks I8 (Figure 1). The underside of the actuating bar or element is formed with a longitudinal rib I9 which is adapted to engage a longitudinal groove formed in an extension Ilia which is made integral with the upper rail I6 (Figure 6). Manifestly, the rib and groove set up a connection between the extension I6a and the actuating bar or element I'I and when said bar or element is moved laterally or transversely of the body I I of the frame, a transverse movement is imparted to the extension and to the upper rail I6. This transverse movement of the upper rail is limited in one direction by a longitudinallyextending, flanged retaining bar 2I which is secured to the blocks I8, the flange of said retaining bar co-acting with an upstanding longitudinal ange 22 formed on the upper rail. Movement of the rail I6 in an opposite direction is limited .by the ends of said rail striking the forward portion of each block I8. The amount of movement which the rail I6 may undergo laterally is sufcient to retract the outer vertical edge of said rail inwardly into the body so that this edge is substantially flush with the rear wall of the body II above the lower rail I5. Thus, when the rail I6 is in the position shown in Figures 6 and 8, the upper rail overlies the lower rail but when moved in a direction to the right in these gures, the upper rail willy be retracted inwardly out of alinernent with the lower rail.

The lateral movement of the upper rail is accomplished through a hand lever 23 which is secured to a shaft 24 mounted in` suitable ears or bearings 25 which are formed integral with the Actuating arms 26 are secured to the shaft 24l and have their upper ends operatively connected with the actuating bar or element II.

` Manifestly, whenthe lever 23 is swung, the-shaft 24 is rotated and a lateral or transverse move- `meint is imparted to the bar or element I'I and to the rail I6 and the laterally movable actuating bar I1. To permit manual movement of the rail I6 longitudinally on the upper surface o1 the body, the extension I6a is formed with a thumb piece 2'I which may be suitably secured thereto. An angular keeper 28 is secured to the upper' surface of the thumb'piece and overlies the laterally Inovable actuating bar or element Il, as is clearly shown in Figure 6. It will be apparent that the thumb piece 2l provides a means whereby a manual sliding movement of the upper rail I6 longitudinally of the body I I may be accomplished.

In order to resiliently maintain the upper rail I6 in a starting. or normal position, with the end of the' rail abutting a stop member'29 secured to the body I I, which position is shown in Figure 5,

l the extension I6a which is formed integral with the upper rail I6 is provided with a depending rod 30. This rod extends downwardly through a longitudinal slot 30a (Figures 5 and 6) which is formed within the body and the lower portion of said rod projects 'into a longitudinal recess 3| stop 29.

which is provided in the rear face of the body Il. A bell crank lever 32 is pivotally mounted on the shank I2 of the frame I0 and has its upper end projecting in a plane in horizontal alinement with the recess 3I and this upper end is formed with an inwardly extending pin 33 which is adapted to engage the depending rod 30. The other arm 34 of the lever which is located at the lo-wer end thereof has one end of a coiled spring 35 connected thereto, the other end of said spring being secured to the shank of the frame. The spring 35 constantly exerts its tension to force the pin 33 at the upper end of the lever 32 into engagement with the depending rod 30 and thus, the spring tension constantly urges the upper rail I6 to its original or starting position in engagement with the stop 29.

A spring-pressed ball 36 is mounted within the body II and is located in spaced relation to the The upper end of the ball 36 projects upwardly above the surface I4 of the body I I and the rail I6 is arranged to ride over the ball. When the upper rail I6 is slid longitudinally from its original or starting position, as shown in Figure 5, to the position shown in Figure 7, the end of said rail has moved beyond the spring- 1 pressed ball 36, with the result that the surface of the ball projects into the path of the rail. Therefore, in order to return the rail to its original or starting position adjacent the stop 29, it is necessary that sufcient force be exerted on the rail to overcome the friction of the spring behind the ball 36. The spring 35, which is act- .ing on the bell crank lever 32 and which is the 'force be applied to the rail in order to return it to its original position.

It might be noted that an upper rail which is capable of a longitudinal sliding movement and which is also capable of being retracted laterally has been disclosed in our copending application and the present construction of this upper rail is an improvement on the device disclosed in such application.

The matrices (not shown) which are fed into the elevator will strike the upper rail I6 when said rail is in the position shown in Figure 5, since said matrices are fed into the device at the end adjacent the stop member 29. If desired, several matrices may be deposited upon the upper rail explained, the upper rail I6 may be held in substantially the position shown in Figure 7 by means of the spring-pressed ball 36, whereby the subsequent matrices are deposited directly upon the lower rail I5. There are many types of linotype make-up work, such as telephone directories,

in which it is desirable that the upper rail I6 'be moved from its original or starting position at a pre-determined time. For example, in printing such material as telephone directories, it is the practice to make the first portion of the line in bold-faced type, the middle portion in lightfaced type and the end portion in bold-faced. It wouldthus be desirable to feed the matrices forming the first portion onto the upper rail,

thenshift the rail to permit the intermediate matrices tof be deposited directly upon the lower matrices. `block 40 which is substantially rectangular in Ishape and which is provided with a recess Y41| upper surface of the block '40.

rail-and finally return the upper rail to its-original position to permit the deposit of the 'remain- :ing matrices upon the upper rail,

`For automatically-shifting the upper rail from its original or starting position, which -will vbe hereinafter referred to as a closed position, an actuating mechanism is mounted withinthe recess 3| and is located at that -end of said recess which is adjacent the point 4of entry of the This actuating mechanism includes a in one side thereof (Figure 4). The recessjhas ageneral rectangular shape and a transverse slot 42 extends from the recess and Iopens upon the opposite side of said block. Avflat spring 43 'having one end secured to the side of the block by VVascrew 44 overlies and closes the open side of 'the recess 4| and this spring'has a wedge-shaped lug v1|5., which extends inwardly into said recess, mounted thereon. AnY arcuate leaf spring d'3 has one end secured to the opposite side of 'the block v40, while vits other end is curved 'inwardly through the slot V42, the endof said spring eX- tending into the Yrecess 4|. An upstanding partition or wall 47 extends upwardly from the bottom 'of the recess 1H and is disposed centrally vand'longitudinally of said recess, the ends of the partition terminating in spaced relation to the vertical end'walls ofthe recess 4|. An upstandingguide pin 48 is provided at one corner of the block `4 and is arranged to co-act in guiding the movement of an actuating bar 50.

VThe actuating bar 5|] is clearly shownin Figures 3 and 9 to.11 and includes a ared body 5| which is arranged to overlie and rest upon the The body 5| of the actuating bar is formed with an outwardly extending lug '52 having its upper surface beveled as shown at 53. The opposite end of the body 5| 'is formed with an elongate groove 54 in its under side and when the bar is in position on vthe block, the groove 54 receives the upstanding `pin 48 which, as explained, is located at one corner of said block. A depending (Din 55 extends downwardly from the under side of the bar and is disposed adjacent one end of the groove 54, this pin being arranged to project-downwardly Vinto the recess 4| ofthe block. An eX- tension 56 having an inclined edge 56a (Figures .9 to 11) is formed integral with the body 5| at the end opposite the beveled lug 52 and this extension is arranged to engage over the depending rod 3B which is formed on the upper rail It and which is located within the recess 3| of the body of the frame.

Normally, the actuating bar is in the position shown in Figure 9, vwith the depending pin 55 of said bar in the position shown in full lines in Figure 4, such position being indicated. at A. The bar-is held in this position by the engagement of the rod 30 with the end of said bar, the rod being forced against the bar because of the bell crank lever 32 which is under the inuence of the spring 35. In this position, the beveled lug 52 on the bar 5G is projecting outwardly beyond the recess 3| and also beyond the side wall of the block 40, whereby this lug is in a Vertical plane beyond the upper and lower rails I5 and I6, as is clearly shown in Figure (l. When a space band `is `fed into the device, this band will engage the end of the lug 52 and. due

to the bevel thereof will urge the actuating bar 5i) in a direction to the right in Figures y5 and :.9.

As the bar 50 is moved to the right, it will'transmit a similar motion to the upper'rail `|S because the end of said bar is -in engagement with the rod 30 of said upper rail. Thus, `the 'upper rail |6 will be slid longitudinally away l from the stop 29 and the end of the rail is against the stop 29.

. handle 5| is secured to the sleeve.

It may lbe desirable to render the actuating mechanism which includes the actuating'bar 50 'inactive at certain times and in order to effect a retraction of the bar so as to retract the lug 52 thereof into the recess 3|, lthe bar '50 is provided with an angular hook 57 whichhas a lateral leg 51a. and which is preferably formed integral with the vertical edge of the bar v 5|) opposite the-edgeon whch the lug 52 is located. The hook 5T yextends through a horizontal slot 58 (Figure 2) which is formed inthe body `ivi of the frame and the lateral .leg 51a. extends parallel to the front wall of the body portioni'i. The leg 51a is engageableover 'a cam link 59, which link has its upper end reduced whereby an inclined cam surface 59a is formed `nearer the upper end of said link.; The Ilower vend of the link is pivotally connected yto a rotatablesleeve 60 which surrounds they shaft 24 and a suitable Manifestly when the sleeve 60 and link 59 are in the position shown in Figure 2, the enlarged -lower end of the link is disposed between the lateral leg Sla'of the hook and the front wall of the 'body whereby the bar 50 is moved inwardly of the body and the lug 52 of said bar is retracted within the recess 3| of the body. When the sleeve is rotated in a vcounter-clockwise direction in Figure 2, the cam link 5Sis lowered, whereby the reduced upper end ofthe .cam link is disposed between the lateral leg 51a andthe .wall .of the body and in this position, the bar 5|) may move outwardly so that its lug 52 :is projecting `outwardly as` shown in Figure 6. Thus, by manipulating the sleeve 60 and thefcam link .59, the lug 52 of the actuating bar 5|! may be projected cutwardly into an operative position or maybe retracted inwardly so as to render the .actuating mechanism inactive.

In the operation of thedevice, rthe partev are in the position shown in Figure, with the .upper rail I6 in its extended position; overlyingvv the lower rail and also in an original'or'. startingpositio-n adjacent the stop 28. The actuating bar 5E) of the actuating mechanism .is 'in the position shown in Figure 9, 4with vtheguide pin 55 on the lower end of the bar 50 in :the position shown in full lines and indicated by the letter A in Figure 4. The cam link 59 is of course in a lowered position at this time and the lug 52 of the actuating bar 50 is projecting beyond the front wall of the body As matrices are fed into` the assembly elevator, said matrices will be deposited upon the upper rail I6 Ibecause said rail is in its projecting'position overlying the lower rail. The lug 152 on the actuating vbar is in a plane suiiciently belowthe lower rail Iii so that any matrices deposited either upon the upper or lower rail will not engage said lug. Therefore, the matrices may be fed into the assembly and will be retainedby the upper rail so long as the parts remain in the position shown in Figure 5.

The rst space band which is fed into the elevator and which is of an' increased length gas compared to the matrices will engage the lug 52,

resting upon the beveled upper surface 53 thereof. As the space band is moved farther into the elevator, that is, as said band moves to the right along the rails in Figure 5, the engagement of said band with the inclined surface of ythe lug 52 will impart a shifting or sliding movement to the actuating bar 50, such movement being permitted by the guide pin 55 of said bar moving longitudinally of the recess 4| in the block 4U, said pin moving toward the wedge-shaped lug 45 within the recess.

As movement is imparted to the actuating bar by the inserted space band, the bar 5U through its engagement with the depending rod 30 of the upper rail I6 will impart a similar sliding movement to the upper rail, whereby the end of the rail will be moved away from the stop 29. Thus, the upper rail is slid longitudinally and since its end is spaced from the stop, the subsequent matrices kwhich are fed into the elevator will drop directly upon the lower rail I5. Movement of the actuating bar longitudinally of the frame and of the block 40 will continue until the pin 55 of said bar strikes the wedge-shaped lug 45 and by this time, the upper rail I6 has moved beyond the spring-pressed ball 36, which ball will prevent the return of the rail to its original position until an additional manual force has been applied to said rail, as previously explained. As the pin 55 of the actuating bar 50 engages the lug 45, the spring 43 which carries this lug will be exed outwardly to permit the pin to pass the end of the upstanding partition 41 (Figure 4) within the recess 4| of the block and as soon as said pin moves past the partition, the spring 43 tends to snap the pin 55 into the position shown in dotted lines in Figure 4, which position is marked B. The bar 50 being pivotally connected to the block 40 through the pin 48 and groove 54, this movement of the pin 55 will cause a swinging movement to be imparted to the bar, such movement being laterally of the block and this position of the parts is shown in Figure 10. When the bar 5U is swung in this manner, the lug 52 is swung inwardly of the block and is moved to a retracted position, whereby it is disposed out of the path of the space band. The actuating bar 50 is thus rendered inactive and the parts will remain in this position until a manual return of the upper rail is eiected.

When the upper rail I6 is manually returned to its original or starting position, the rod 30 of said rail will engage the end of the actuating bar and will slide said bar to the position shown'in Figure 11, the pin 55 being moved to the dotted line position C in Figure 4. As this sliding movement is imparted to the actuating bar through the rod 30, the pin 55 will engage the curved spring 46, which spring must ex to permit the pin to pass the end of the partition 41. Thus, the spring 46 is distorted outwardly to permit by-passing of the pin 55 and as soon as said pin clears the end of the'partition,V the pin 55 is snapped into its original position on the opposite side of the partition 41, as shown in full lines A in Figure 4. Thus, a snap action is effected in returning the bar to its original position, whereby its lug 52 is again disposed outwardly in a position adapted to be engaged by the next space band inserted into the assembly. l

From the foregoing, it will be seen that a simple and efficient assembly| elevator is provided. The matrices are fed into the machine and so long as the upper rail is inthe position shown in Figures 5 and 6, said matrices will be deposited upon said upper rail. Upon ythe insertion of the first space band into the device, the actuating mechanism is set into operation, whereby the upper rail is shifted to anvopen position so that the subsequent matrices will be deposited upon the lower rail. Whenklit is desired to again deposit matrices upon the upper rail, a manual shifting of the upper rail will result in disengaging the actuating bar 50 from the space band and returning the same to its original position ready for the next operation. The actuating mechanism may be rendered inactive at any desired time by merely manipulating the sleeve 60 and raising the cam link 5 9. Of course, if it is desired to retract the entire upper rail I6 it is only necessary to swing the lever 23 and retract the rail through the element l1 which is moved laterally of the body Il by the operation of the lever 23.

The foregoing description of the invention is explanatory thereof and various changes in the size, shape and materials, as well as in the details of the illustrated construction may' be made, within the scope vof the appended claims, without departing from the spirit of the invention.

What' we claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. A duplex rail assembling elevator including, a frame, a lower rail carried by said frame, van upper rail mounted on the frame and disposed above the lower rail, said upper rail being movable longitudinally of said frame, and means supported on said frame and engageable vby a space band which is fed into the elevator for imparting a longitudinal movement to said upper rail.

2. A duplex rail assembling elevator including, a frame, a lower rail carried by said frame, an upper rail mounted on the frame and disposed above the lower rail, said upper rail being movable longitudinally of said frame, and movable actuating means supported on said frame and operatively connected to the upper rail for imparting a longitudinal movement to said upper rail, said actuating means being normally disposed in the path of a space band which is inserted into the elevator so as to be engaged and operated by said space band, whereby theupper rail is automatically moved when said space band is inserted into the elevator.

3. A duplex rail assembling elevator as set forth in claim 2, with means for retracting the actuating means out of the path of the inserted space band to render said means inactive.

4. A duplex rail assembling elevator including, a frame, a lower rail formed on said frame, an upper rail mounted on the frame and movable longitudinally thereof, movable means projecting beyond said rails adapted to be engaged by a space band which is fed into the elevator, and means operatively connecting said projecting means to the upper rail, whereby as the` projecting means is moved by the space band the upper rail will be moved longitudinally of the frame.

5. A duplex rail assembling elevator including, a frame, a lower rail formed on said frame. an upper rail secured to the frame and movable longitudinally thereof, movable means projecting beyond said rails adapted to be engaged by a space band which is fed into the elevator, means operatively connecting said projecting means to the upper rail, whereby as the projecting means is moved by the space band the upper rail will be moved longitudinally of the frame, and means for moving the projecting means out of engagement with the space-band after a predetermined travel thereof.

6. A duplex rail assembling elevator including, a frame, a lower rail formed on said frame, an upper rail secured to the frame and movable longitudinally thereof, an actuating element operatively connected to the upper rail, a projection formed on said element adapted to be engaged by a space band whereby movement of the space band will move the element and the upper rail longitudinally of the frame, and means for automatically retracting the projection and element from engagement with the space band after a pre-determined longitudinal movement of the element.

'7. A duplex rail assembling elevator as set forth in claim and means for manually retracting the projecting means out of the path of an inserted space band to render the same inactive.

8. A duplex rail assembling elevator as set forth in claim 2, with means for automatically disengaging the actuating means from the space band after said band and means have traveled a pre-determined distance.

9. A duplex rail assembling elevator including, a frame, a lower rail carried by said frame, an upper rail mounted on the frame and disposed above the lower rail, said upper rail being movable longitudinally of said frame, movable actuating means supported on said frame and operatively connected to the upper rail for imparting a longitudinal movement to said upper rail, said actuating means being normally disposed in the path of a space band which is inserted into the elevator so as to be engaged and operated by said space band, whereby the upper rail is automatically moved when said space band is inserted into the elevator, means for automatically disengaging the actuating means from the space band after said band and means have traveled a predetermined distance, and means associated with the upper rail for preventing its automatic return to its original starting position after it has been moved by said actuating means.

10. A duplex rail assembly elevator as set forth in claim 9, with manually operated means for returning the upper rail and actuating means to their original starting positions. y f

11. As a sub-combination in a duplex rail assembling elevator having a longitudinally movable upper rail of an actuating mechanism for imparting movement to said rail, said mechanism including, a support adapted to be mounted on the elevator, an actuating bar slidable longitudinally and capable of a swinging movement upon the upper surface of said support, said bar being adapted to be operatively connected with the upper rail, and a projection on said bar normally disposed in the path of a space band which is fed into the elevator, whereby said projection is engaged by the band and movement of said band imparts movement to the bar and upper rail.

12. The sub-combinati-on as set forth in claim 11, together with co-acting means carried by the support and by the actuating bar for automatically swinging the bar to disengage its projection from the space after said band and bar have been moved a predetermined distance.

13. The sub-combination as set forth in claim 11, together with a manually operated means for swinging the bar to retract and hold the projection Iout of the path of the space band to render the mechanism inactive.

14. As a sub-combination in a duplex rail assembling elevator having a longitudinally movable upper rail of an actuating mechanism for imparting movement to said rail, said mechanism including, a support adapted to be mounted on the elevator, an actuating bar slidable longitudinally and capable of a swinging movement upon the upper surface of said support, said bar being adapted to be operatively connected with the upper rail, a projection on said bar normally disposed in the path of a space band which is fed into the elevator, whereby said projection is engaged by the band and movement of said band imparts movement to the bar and upper rail, co-acting means carried by the support and actuating bar for automatically swinging the bar to disengage the projection from the space band after said band and bar have been moved a predetermined distance, and a manually operated means for swinging the bar to retract and hold the bar out of the path of the space band to render the mechanism inactive.

HORACE C. WAUSON.

WALTER E. BENNETT, JR. 

